Thoughts on: The Sexy Lie

Please watch this video.

"We raise our little boys to view their bodies as tools to master their environments. We raise our little girls to view their bodies as projects to constantly be improved. What if women started to view their bodies as tools to master their environment? As tools to get you from one place to the next? As these amazing vehicles for moving through the world in a new way?"

I watched this incredible TEDx talk yesterday given by Dr. Caroline Hedman, titled "The Sexy Lie." I love it. I love that she is calling out our society, the women in it and the men in it for the damage we do to women by sexually objectifying them. I love that she supports her claims with her own research. I love that she gives us ways to act and help the problem. And I really, really wish I had heard and understood her message as a young girl.

This is about to get deep, y'all. I grew up in a healthy, loving home with two parents that were supportive and provided structure and just about anything I could want or need. They are really fantastic parents. I was actively religious and very involved in sports, music, academics, service and leadership throughout my childhood and adolescence. I am a people pleaser, and one of my best but most damaging characteristics is that I forgive very easily. In our world, with the signals I got from society, that helped me turn into a doormat. I was the girl that Dr. Hedman describes in this video, who regarded male attention as the holy grail for my self worth. And some dumb boys used me and abused me and hurt me emotionally for years to come, because neither they nor I understood just how damaging sexual objectification can be to a young girl's spirit. 

One time, I remember a boy asking me to wear very short shorts to a school function because he liked how I looked in them. I remember feeling shame for giving in to his requests but I did it anyway, because I regarded his attention for my body as valuable. I had trained myself to view this superficial form of attention as the basis for my self-worth. I was the student body president at the time. You would think that I would have had a little more pride in my abilities and respect for myself to subject to wearing revealing clothes because I liked the attention from a boy, but I didn't.

I am still working today on repairing the damage that was done to me through my very malleable teenage years. I am married to a wonderful man who loves me for my big heart and my mind... and tells me that often. I have a real and much improved relationship with God where I derive my own divine sense of self worth. I have an incredible family who loves me and I can never repay them for how they have helped me become the best I can be. I am ambitious, intelligent and I accomplish my goals. I spend my time at work, as a nurse for children. Oh how I love those children. I am so much more than an object. And so is everybody else. 

I just want to remind those I know and love that nobody is immune to The Lie. Boy or girl. Old or young. Successful or struggling. Happy or depressed. Spiritual or not. The woman (I say woman because this is where the overwhelming problem lies), teenager, tween, or girl in your life is struggling to create her own sense of self worth. Or she is struggling to repair the damage that has been done already. I hope that we can continue to teach our girls that their bodies are amazing for what they can DO, not what they look like or how they can be acted upon. 

Have a great Friday and weekend. Thanks for reading. 

Yay for birthdays!

The beginning of the year is an exciting time around these parts... we've got two birthdays back to back! We started the festivities out with our traditional Spaghetti Factory dinner for family birthdays.

My 23rd birthday was on January 4th. It was a fun day filled with ice cream cake, family time and my company winter party. 

I am a little bit sad that I can no longer sing Taylor Swift's "twenty-two," with as much enthusiasm, but I am very excited about the year that lies ahead!

On January 12th, Miss Whitney turned 10! 

It is so crazy that our red-headed spunky angel is getting so old! She is truly a miracle and watching her blow out her 10-year-old candles is somewhat emotional for me. I think about how lucky we are as a family to have been blessed with her spirit for this long and to get to watch her grow up. I think of all of my precious kiddos from the cancer unit in SLC, some who are still living and some who were called back to heaven, with love. Cancer sucks... but it sure helps us remember what is precious in life. 

For Whit's birthday, she and Lizzie (perks of being a sis!) got their ears pierced! It was a fun outing and they both survived with new sparkly things in their ears :)

Oh, and... HOW BOUT THEM HAWKS!!!! Love my team!!! (Blue Friday at work)

We go on working and schooling and trying to fit in some play time... hopefully you all have seamlessly begun post-holiday "normal life" again! Have a happy week!

2013 in review!

Hello, blogosphere! I have been MIA for a while, mostly due to family events, work and catching up on sleep whenever I can! But here I am, and 2013 is already over. I can't believe it!

New Year's has never been a favorite holiday of mine, mostly because I have a hard time staying awake past 10:30 on most nights. I like setting goals on a normal basis, so new year's resolutions don't have too much weight with me. But I love the fact that the new year prompts me to reflect on my past year in gratitude and to identify lessons along the way. Also, Matt proposed to me on New Year's Eve two years ago, so that makes it a lot more special :)

Matt and I have been so blessed this year. 

Here is our 2013 in review... mostly in pictures because those are the best! 

Matt thrived and I survived in the brutal SLC winter! It is so beautiful, but makes me grateful again for my rainy Seattle winters.

We sent off our favorite sister missionary to Toronto, CA.

Matt and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary with some snowboarding and a weekend away. 

I got into UW, the grad school of my dreams! Matt graduated from BYU with his Bachelor's in Exercise Science. Woo hoo!!

We "partied hard" with friends and did lots of camping during our last month living in Utah. I graduated with my Bachelor's in Nursing from the U of U. 

We camped some more at Matt's family property and left the first place we called home together for good. We moved to Seattle to begin our job and house hunt!

We made a quick trip back to Utah for my grandfather's funeral. We were lucky enough to also spend a lot of time with Matt's family! We miss them!!

Our little Lizzie got baptized, marking the end of an era in the Hutchings family! She's getting so old! *tear*

September was a busy month... we moved into an old, dilapidated farm house. We fixed it up and called it home, enchanted by the beauty of the fields and coyotes that came with it. I started my first quarter at the UW and we got to go to Coeur D'Alene and watch Andy play football. 

We both (finally) had jobs in October! Matt started working as a Personal Trainer at the Pro Sports Club and I started working as an RN at Pediatric Associates. We both love our jobs and are so blessed to have work. My best friend Lauren also got married (back in September) but I got to finally see her at her open house here in Seattle!!!

We spent a fantastic Thanksgiving with my family and counted our blessings many times. Also, kept up the tradition of the Turkey Trot! (we also moved out of aforementioned farmhouse, into a townhome in Bothell. We love our new place!)

We went to Matt's swanky work Christmas party where we both won some prizes - yay for Roulette! We got to spend more time with my fam for Christmas and my sister Mallory got ENGAGED! We are so excited for Tyler and Mall and can't wait to welcome him into our family officially!

Have a happy new year and a fun, safe night! Bring on 2014!!

Favorites floating around the web

Over the past week, I have written two papers, created a final presentation, studied for a final test and finished a few other assignments - all as my quarter draws to a close.

What that means, naturally, is that I have found plenty of things on the internet to distract me.

Some 2013 music mash-ups:

Some fantastic videos to put us in the Christmas spirit:

Some videos that bring me to tears:

(I didn't know him. That doesn't change the fact that this is very touching. My mother in law once got a kiss on the cheek from Paul Walker, and she said he was a very nice man. That is a sad loss, there are not enough nice men in this world.)

And some great TED talks:

Hope I have successfully wasted some of your time. I am ready for my much-needed break this holiday season... bring on finals!

My favorite boy.

Today is December 1st. The Christmas season is just getting geared up, and it is one of my favorite days of the year.

It's Matt Day!!

Today, my sweet husband is 29. He brushes birthdays off as if they are nothing, where I celebrate them as what they really are: a holiday! Last night we went and bought him a VERY big present that I will reveal later this week, ate at the Seattle Center and saw Sherlock Holmes: The Hound of the Baskervilles at the Seattle Repertory Theater. It was fantastic! The actors, the set, the graphic and the live music was all incredible. It was such a fun night out.

Today, we're going to my parent's house for part 2 of Matt day celebration. His favorite cake is there along with some presents and lots of family.

Now, to honor my favorite boy, here are 29 things I love about him:

1. He will eat anything and everything. Leftovers are his best friend.

2. He served an LDS mission in Denver, Colorado. I love that he took me there to visit all of the people and places special to him and that he tells stories often.

3. Knowing cars is a hobby of his. Right now, he's loving MINIs (hint hint).

4. He loves to sing and has a beautiful voice.

5. He doesn't quit.

6. He is so very athletically gifted. He thinks "trying hard" means until you puke or collapse.

7. He is great with little kids - our nephews, cousins and my sisters. He pretty much turns into a little kid too and loves to play.

8. He ran a marathon on a whim, with no training.

9. He is the most supportive person I have in my life. He encourages me to chase after my dreams and won't let me give up.

10. He loves to go camping and all outdoor activities. Those have provided such great bonding experiences for us and has instilled in him a respect and love for the earth.

11. We both love to watch movies.

12. He's got a wonderful, loving, fun family. I definitely drew the lucky in-law card!

13. He's the best road-trip partner.

14. He loves guns, taught me how to shoot, and bought me my first gun.

15. He cares about people. When I met him, he was a CNA. In that job, you learn how to love and care for people that are rude, smelly and difficult. He has a love for everyone and their stories.

16. He is a loyal and honest man.

17. He holds my hand all the time.

18. We love to eat gelato together.

19. He will watch Bachelor/Bachelorette with me. He makes fun of it the whole time and it makes it SO much better to watch!

20. He has a background as an electrician (his dad owns an electrical business) so he is seriously the best handyman there is. He can fix anything and actually loves doing it.

21. He can cook. 

22. He is a good friend. 

23. He has perfectly-straight teeth with no braces. Yay for our kids! haha.

24. He kills all the spiders in the house for me.

25. He always knows what I want better than I do: He even picked my wedding rings out.

26. He loves animals - especially dogs. I wish I wasn't so badly allergic to them so that we could get one.

27. Football, football, football! Good thing I like football too.

28. He has a strong sense of personal responsibility - to correct what he's done wrong, to give respect, and to leave the world a better place. 

29. He listens to God and is a grateful, loving man.

I love to celebrate him!!! 

This I believe.

For an assignment in one of my classes, we wrote an essay and recorded it about a belief of ours. The essays were modeled after the NPR series here. 

Here is my essay, orated by yours truly. It is titled:

I believe that the most difficult challenges teach the best lessons.

Click here to give it a listen. 

It has something to do with this special girl.

Have a great weekend!

Movin' with my Fitbit

Okay so I've not been very active on social media lately, what with moving and school and work and all that stuff...

But we're all moved now! Thank heavens that whole process is over and done with for a while. We really like our new place, even though it's added about 15-20 minutes on to our commutes. It's a little sad to not live on a cool farm anymore. But to be honest, once it started getting cold outside the novelty of the farmhouse wore out pretty quick with no heat inside! And now we've got some landlords to fix stuff for us! It's great. I like the area of Kenmore a lot. There are many shops, libraries and Starbucks' around so that I am a happy little camper. The King County Metro bus system from Kenmore also got me to school on time, and I didn't have to do any transfers. Great.
Side note: it was a big deal for me to start taking the bus to school about 6 weeks ago. I'm kind of afraid of public transportation because I've had bad experiences of bus schedule incompetence and weirdo guys talking to me. But practice and an exasperation with traffic/parking prices at UW has made me an adopted public busing expert. Kind of. 

So anyways, some REALLY big news is that my sister is here in Seattle!! It's a happy and a sad thing. Great because we are so excited to see her, but she is here to try and figure out some really bad headaches she's been having. So I really hope she and her doctors can figure out how to help her feel better! Please keep her in your prayers. Love you, Mall. (Even if everyone else writes your name like Mal, I've been writing it Mall for your whole life so that's what I'm going to keep doing.)

Now onto the FITBIT FORCE!!

Matt bought this beauty for me about a month ago, and it finally got here! I got mine a week before he got his (yesterday). I started using it last Thursday and I would definitely say I love it. 

My job has me sitting on my butt every day, all day. I think that's a problem for a lot of people with full time jobs or in full time school (or both). Watching my step count on my fitbit has helped me focus on moving more and has motivated me to get in my daily morning workout before I go to work. When I work out, I average between 7,000-9,000 steps a day. The day I didn't? 3,500. That's a huge difference. So sedentary.

My fitbit measures steps, "calories" burned (not sure how accurate this actually is), elevation in staircases climbed, active minutes. It tracks my sleep and lets me know how restless I was during the night. It has silent, vibrating alarms - one of my favorite features. It syncs almost immediately when I open the app I downloaded to my phone. It also has a clock on the unit (like the picture above) which I like, so it's functions as a watch as well.

This is the app on my iPhone.

You can add in a food diary (which I haven't tried yet), and track amount of water drank. You self-enter weight to track that. Oh yeah, and link up with friends. Right now, Matt is my only friend on Fitbit! I need some more :)

Here's the graph of steps that pops up when I turn my phone sideways. Obviously this was a day I went to the gym. (I told you I sit on my butt all day at work!)

This is what the daily sleep graph looks like. So cool. This is one of my more restless nights.... almost every night is just plain blue. The website told me I have 99% sleep efficiency. I just wish I got MORE of it!!!

And here is a peek at the website dashboard:

I really think it is a great tool to stay aware of activity. It's very comfortable - I don't even feel like I'm wearing anything on my wrist. I got the "slate blue" color and Matt got the black. Those are the only two colors available for the force but I wish there were more! 

All in all, a really cool thing. I highly recommend it!!

Hope you all have a great week/weekend and Thanksgiving!